2012 Toyota Camry SE V6 Ride and Review By Dan Poler

There’s a certain image that’s conjured by the name
“Camry”, the basic family hauler, reliable if somewhat boring,
very good at being a basic sedan. Despite this ho-hum-ness, Toyota sold
nearly 310,000 of them in the United States in 2011.

So, suppose I told you that there’s a great new sports sedan
on the market – stylish, very well-equipped at just a little over
$31,000, great for daily driving and hauling car seats, but opens up for
some excitement as well… Would you think less of it because
it’s a Camry?

Completely redesigned for 2012, the new Camry has done an
exceptional job of breaking its stereotypes. It’s evident that
Toyota’s team went back to the drawing board with the intent of
correcting some of the specific critiques about the prior model, and in the
process relieved the Camry of a great deal of it’s stereotyped
“Camryness”, coming up with a bold departure from prior
models that is stylish and fun to drive.

Equipped in the SE V6 trim that I drove, the Camry includes 18-inch
alloy wheels, sport-tuned suspension, foglamps, a unique update to both
interior and exterior styling, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and
upgraded power-adjustable seats. Adding that V6 will net you a 3.5 liter
generating 268 HP and 248 lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic
transmission with paddle shifters on the steering wheel. The powerplant
setup provides for a 0-60 clocking in at a very respectable 6.6 seconds;
the V6 package also provides for a Smart Key and an enhanced radio and GPS
unit that also includes HD radio, satellite radio, voice recognition and
Toyota’s Entune smartphone and Web integration.

The exterior treatments specific to the SE trim are tasteful for a
sport sedan without going overboard. The aggressively styled front fascia
is attractive but functional, without being so low as to make parking in
crowded parking lots a challenge. The back end sports dual chrome-tipped
exhaust pipes, a nice touch.

Another attractive addition are the 18-inch turbine-style alloy
wheels, surprisingly nice for a car in this class and a nice touch to
differentiate the SE trim level.

Inside, you’ll find an attractive, well-appointed cabin with
nice touches throughout that make the Camry a nice place to spend extended
drives. The trim is a brushed-aluminum-look plastic, and the two-tone
perforated ultrasuede seats are not only good-looking, they’re
supremely comfortable for long drives, with power adjustment for both
driver and passenger.

There are storage cubbies and compartments everywhere, as is
Toyota’s style. The in-dash entertainment unit combines Bluetooth
GPS, backup camera, HD and XM radio, and Toyota’s Entune product
which allows the entertainment system to utilize the Internet connection of
a smartphone to provide online content such as access to Pandora Radio or
Bing for searches. The entertainment system, although more straightforward
than most, can be a bit daunting to use on the go, given its host of
physical and touchscreen buttons. The back seat is quite accommodating of
adults, although the center seat is a bit raised relative to the outboard
positions and can run a tall person into the headliner.

The Camry is no slouch when it comes to safety, sporting what
we’ve come to think of as typical features including ABS with brake
assist, electronic stability control, front and rear side airbags, full
length side curtain airbags, and knee airbags for both driver and front
passenger. A blind-spot warning system is also available, although it was
not equipped to the tested vehicle. The US government and the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety have both given very high marks to the new
Camry.

The Camry SE’s performance is exceptional – the V6
engine is no slouch and handles freeway onramps and passing with ease. The
six-speed ECT-i transmission generally performed well, I did note the
occasional jumpiness as the transmission skipped a gear when downshifting,
or when it didn’t downshift as expected – both conditions
easily remedied with the steering wheel’s paddle shifters. Even with
the great performance of the Camry SE, I averaged a decent 27 MPG in
combined city and highway driving, against estimates of 21 city / 30
highway.

The sport suspension does a decent – although not perfect
– job of countering body roll, at the expense of a somewhat harsh,
bumpy ride on the freeway; it’s easy to feel every pavement seam.

Despite the great improvements to the 2012 Camry SE, there are still
a couple places where it clearly retains its stereotypical
“Camryness” – for one, steering leaves a bit to be
desired – for 2012, Toyota switched the entire Camry line to the
electric-assisted steering setup previously found only on the Camry Hybrid;
although the setup enables Toyota to tune the steering to the application,
I’m not a fan of the new configuration. The steering is soft and
vague, but without any dead spot in the middle – a combination makes
it easy to overcorrect at highway speeds.

One other concern sits at the intersection of tires and traction
control – The Camry SE sports Michelin low-rolling resistance tires
which don’t feel well mated to the SE’s sporty visage.
It’s easy to get the tires spinning and squealing in the corners and
during acceleration – even on dry pavement – leading an
overly-aggressive traction control to engage and remove power. This
combination can be frustrating and results in needing to gently nudge the
accelerator pedal off the line.

So, what’s in a name? If you’re in the market for a
sports sedan in the low-$30,000 range, don’t pass over the Camry SE
V6! Toyota has clearly put a lot of effort into breaking out of the
boring-family-sedan mold, and it shows. The Camry SE V6 is a pleasure to
drive and deserving of consideration.

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